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Eugene Ore. - The University of New Mexico track and field team is heading to Eugene, Ore. for the Outdoor track and field NCAA Championship Finals, June 9-12 at Hayward Field. The Lobos are sending seven athletes, competing in seven different events. Lee Emanuel, Sandy Fortner, Chris Barnicle, Deanna Young and Ruth Senior are all in the top-10 in their respective events with Emanuel, Fortner and Barnicle in the top-three.

Combined events for the heptathlon begin Wednesday, June 9 at 11 a.m. MST.

Lobo Men

Lee Emanuel is making his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. No Lobo distance runner has ever made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Outdoor meet and Emanuel is looking to become the school's first two-time All-American at 1,500 meters.

Senior Jacob Kirwa is the first Lobo to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor 5,000 in consecutive years. UNM hasn't had an All-American in the event since Bill Managan's eighth place finish in 1989. Kirwa was 18th in the 5K semifinals last year.

Sophomore Lamaar Thomas is the first Lobo in 23 years to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100 meters. Thomas is the third Lobo to qualify in the 100 meters since 1968, joining Gabriel Okon (1986 & '87) and Dwayne Rudd (1984). Rene Matison, Steve Caminiti, and Bernie Rivers combined for five NCAA Outdoor appearances in the 100-yard dash from 1965-67 with Matison earning All-America honors with a fourth place finish in 1966.

Senior Chris Barnicle gives the Lobo men a qualifier in the 10,000 for the fourth straight year and sixth time in eight years. New Mexico's four qualifiers in the 10K since 2003 have combined to earn five All-America awards, including Barnicle's 13th place finish last year. The Lobos' six total All-America awards in the 10,000 (beginning with Ibrahim Kivina's runner-up finish in 1984) are the most by the program in any single event.

Lobo Women

Senior Sandy Fortner joins Darcy Ahner (1989 & '90) and Keren Sari-Bentzur (2002 & '03) as the Lobos' lone NCAA heptathlon qualifiers. Bentzur's ninth place finish in 2002 is the best by a Lobo in the two-day competition. Fortner was officially 24th in her NCAA Outdoor debut in 2008 after dropping out with an injury prior to the final event.

Junior Deanna Young joins former high school coach Lavern Clarke as the only Lobo women to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump. Clark earned All-America honors with an eighth place finish in 1990 and was ninth in 1991. Five of the Lobos' seven total All-America awards since 1990 have come in the field events (javelin, triple jump, long jump).

Junior Ruth Senior is the first UNM woman ever to qualify for the NCAA meet in the 3,000 steeplechase.

NCAA Championship Information

 Live steaming can be found at NCAA.com
 For live results Click Here
 Coverage begins on CBS College Sports Friday, June 11 beginning at 6 p.m. MST and continues Saturday, June 12 at 11 a.m. MST.
 CBS CS on Comcast channel 274
 Direct TV 613
 Dish 152
 A full schedule of events is attached

Last Year At NCAA
New Mexico had five athletes earn All-American honors at the 2009 Outdoor Championships. Lee Emanuel had the highest finish of the group, capturing the bronze in the 1500-meters with at time of 3:39.66. Emanuel matched the highest finish ever by a Lobo (Kip Koskei, 1979) in the 1500-meter.

Chris Barnicle and Michelle Corrigan came in 13th and 8th in the 10K to earn All-American honors. Corrigan became the first UNM woman to earn All-American honors on the track since 1996. Barnicle finished seven spots above his seed to earn All-American honors as one of the top-eight finishing United States citizens in the race. He became the fourth Lobo to earn All-American honors in the event and third (five times) since 2003.

Anthony Fairbanks finished ninth in the javelin throw to capture All-American honors. Fairbanks became the first Lobo to earn All-American honors in the men's javelin since 1967.

Katie Coronado finished 11th in the women's javelin throw and 7th among U.S. citizens to earn All-American honors.

Franklin Earns USTFCCA Mountain Region Coach Of The Year
The University of New Mexico track and field head coach Joe Franklin has been named United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) Mountain Region Men's Coach of the Year Friday. The award is voted on by Franklin's coaching peers.
Franklin is in his third as head coach at New Mexico and was recently named 2010 MWC Men's Track and Field Coach of the Year.

During Franklin's three-year tenure he has coached eight athletes to All-American honors, sent a record number 26 athletes to the NCAA regionals May 27-30, 2010 and currently has seven athletes that rank top-10 in the country in their respective events.

2010 NCAA Championship Qualifiers Breakdown

Lee Emanuel - 1500m - Senior - Hastings, England
 Ranked No. 2 in the Nation with a time of 3:38.79
 Took 1st in the event at the MWC Championships with a time of 3:44.99
 One of three Lobos to make the field  2009 and 2010 Indoor mile Champion
 2009 Outdoor All-American
 2010/2008 All-MWC in the 1500m
 Qualified for the 800m but chose to scratch

Sandy Fortner - Heptathlon - Senior - Fort Sumner, N.M.
 Automatically qualified for the Heptathlon with a career best score of 5,723
 Currently No. 3 in the nation in the event
 Qualified for the 2008 NCAA's, knee problems kept her from competing
 2010 All-MWC in the heptathlon

Chris Barnicle - 10,000m - Senior - Newtown, Mass.
 Ranked No. 2 in the country with a time of 28:10.59
 Set a PR (28:10.09) in the event at the Jordan Payton Cardinal Invitation, finished 2nd among collegiate racers
 Earned All-American honors in 2009 in the event

Ruth Senior - 3000SC - Junior - Norwich, England
 No. 10 nationally in the 3000SC
 All-MWC in the 3000SC
 Owns the school record in both the 3000SC (10:09.14) and the 5K (15:57.32)
 Took 2nd at MWC Championships in the 3000SC

Jacob Kirwa - 5,000m - Senior - Eldoret, Kenya
 No. 24 nationally and No. 12 in the nation in the 5K
 Career best time of 13:48.85 in the 5K
 2x All-MWC in 5K
 MWC Outdoor Champion in 5K

Deanna Young - Triple Jump - Junior - Albuquerque, N.M.
 Ranked No. 4 in the nation with a mark of 43-10.75 (13.38)
 Set a career best in the event (43-10.75) at the 2010 Texas Relays
 2009 Indoor All-American in the event
 2010 All-MWC in Triple Jump